Chapter 20

Qin Xiyao’s footsteps paused.

She did not understand why Mu Baicheng had suddenly made such a request.

Had she remembered something?

Qin Xiyao suppressed the joy rising in her heart.

“Sister Mu.”

Thump, thump, thump.

Mu Baicheng’s heartbeat immediately became irregular again.

She pressed a hand against her chest.

At this moment, she was certain.

She had fallen for Qin Xiyao.

“Mm.”

A brilliant smile blossomed across Mu Baicheng’s face, and the paw holding Dudu unconsciously tightened.

“Awooo!”

Dudu shot out of Mu Baicheng’s arms.

A large patch of fur had been torn from its neck.

Boo-hoo! Baibai, what grudge do you have against me? Why would you attack me so viciously?

Qin Xiyao slowly exhaled.

It was not what she had hoped.

Mu Baicheng still had no memories of their previous life.

“Let’s go.”

At the estate’s entrance, a large crowd watched the two of them emerge.

Liu Sheng stood at the front, looking at them anxiously.

“Where is my wife?”

Dudu barked twice, then turned and barked toward the estate.

Liu Sheng did not understand what it meant.

“What happened? Did something happen to her?”

Endless sorrow swept over him.

His brows drew tightly together.

Remembering his wife’s previous condition, Liu Sheng feared they might truly have been too late.

Unlike her father, Liu Suhong did not immediately assume the worst.

“Xiyao, where is my mother?”

Qin Xiyao pointed toward the estate.

“She’s inside. Don’t worry. It’s safe for all of you to enter now.”

After receiving Qin Xiyao’s assurance, Liu Sheng and Liu Suhong rushed inside.

Song Jinran rubbed her chin while studying Qin Xiyao.

The silver radiance surrounding her had weakened considerably.

How interesting.

Even more interesting was Mu Baicheng standing beside her.

This Alpha appeared unremarkable, yet a faint layer of golden light surrounded her.

For a person to naturally possess golden light was already an extraordinary phenomenon.

Even a renowned general with magnificent military achievements would possess only the red light of merit after death.

But Mu Baicheng’s radiance was a purer gold, resembling…

The gods and Buddhas worshiped in temples.

Huang Zhengyan stared in disbelief as the father and daughter entered stolen contentthe estate completely unharmed.

How was that possible?

Had Qin Xiyao truly resolved everything?

He refused to accept it.

Mu Baicheng noticed Huang Zhengyan’s sallow expression and immediately knew he was dissatisfied.

He probably intended to avoid paying.

Sure enough, his next words were, “I refuse to accept this result! When we entered last time, my fellow disciples sacrificed their lives to weaken the baleful energy here. Otherwise, you could never have resolved the problem so easily.”

Before Mu Baicheng or Qin Xiyao could respond, Song Jinran sneered.

“Senior Brother Huang, surely you know that the Heavenly Dao bears witness to the wagers and vows made by cultivators?”

“It’s only one million yuan. That amount means nothing to you, doesn’t it? Must you truly refuse to honor your debt?”

Beautiful!

Mu Baicheng gave Song Jinran a thumbs-up.

She loved the way Song Jinran placed justice above loyalty to her own people.

It was honestly rather impressive.

Qin Xiyao did not waste a single word.

She reached directly into Mu Baicheng’s pocket, took out her phone, unlocked it, and opened the GreenChat payment code.

“That will be one million yuan, please.”

Huang Zhengyan’s expression became even uglier.

Under Song Jinran’s disdainful gaze, he was unwilling to disgrace the Celestial Masters’ Residence before its Eldest Young Miss.

He could only obediently take out his phone and scan the code.

“GreenChat has received a payment of one million yuan.”

Mu Baicheng’s heart nearly flew from her chest.

This was wonderful!

She had finally accomplished something in life!

If her master found out, would he become so shocked that he jumped out of his grave?

Your disciple now has one million yuan in her GreenChat account!

“Thank you, Xiyao.”

Liu Suhong and Liu Sheng emerged from the estate.

A weakened Zhao Jing leaned against Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng looked at Qin Xiyao with profound gratitude.

“Young lady, send your bank account number to Honghong. I’ll have the finance department transfer your payment shortly.”

“Ten million?” Mu Baicheng tentatively asked.

She seemed to remember Liu Sheng offering that amount earlier.

Liu Sheng shook his head.

“That certainly wouldn’t be enough. Twenty million.”

Mu Baicheng sucked in a sharp breath and pinched her own arm.

She was not dreaming.

Another twenty million yuan was about to enter their account!

Qin Xiyao did not say much.

She simply pointed at Mu Baicheng.

“Transfer it to her.”

Without an identification card, Qin Xiyao naturally did not possess a bank account.

Liu Suhong covered her face.

She had forgotten about Qin Xiyao’s lack of identification.

She whispered a few words into Liu Sheng’s ear.

His expression changed.

This young woman was completely undocumented?

As a businessman, Liu Sheng naturally began forming other ideas.

However, Qin Xiyao had just saved his wife, so he could not allow his intentions to appear too obvious.

“I’ll take my wife to the hospital first. Honghong, make the arrangements for this evening. I’d like to invite your friends to dinner tonight.”

Liu Suhong made a gesture.

“Okay.”

*

By the time they returned home, all Mu Baicheng’s enthusiasm over earning money had disappeared.

She sat blankly on the sofa with a cushion in her arms and unconsciously buried her face in it.

It seemed she was rich now.

But it also seemed none of the money belonged to her.

Qin Xiyao had become a wealthy young woman.

Mu Baicheng liked her?

What gave her the right?

Qin Xiyao folded her arms and stared at the dazed Mu Baicheng.

What was wrong with this woman?

She had sat there staring into space ever since they returned, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Had having money somehow become a burden?

“How long do you plan to sit there staring into space? Aren’t you going to study?”

Qin Xiyao’s voice pulled Mu Baicheng back to reality.

“I was thinking about how rich you are now.”

And how unworthy I am of you.

“What? Do you think you’re poor?”

Mu Baicheng woodenly nodded, resembling a pitiful golden retriever.

Of course she did.

She had never been wealthy.

If she truly confessed that she liked Qin Xiyao, how could she possibly support her in the future?

Qin Xiyao pretended to nod thoughtfully.

With a calm expression, she leaned closer and looked into Mu Baicheng’s eyes.

“Isn’t there already a shortcut to wealth standing directly in front of you?”

Mu Baicheng was speechless.

Why did this conversation sound so familiar?

“Then—”

“Forget it. You don’t want to take it anyway.”

Qin Xiyao straightened and retreated two steps.

Someone had taught her this tactic.

It was called playing hard to get.

Ever since they returned from the estate, Mu Baicheng’s attitude toward her had changed somewhat.

It seemed obtaining magical power from her would no longer be as troublesome as before.

Mu Baicheng scratched her head, her brows drawing together.

She tried to keep her expression normal, but an enormous storm had already erupted inside her.

Ahhhhh! I never said I was unwilling!

But if I really agreed…wouldn’t I be attaching myself to a wealthy woman?

Yet this wealthy woman was beautiful, had an excellent figure, and possessed profound mastery of Daoist arts.

No matter how Mu Baicheng looked at it, Qin Xiyao would be the one suffering a loss.

Besides, Qin Xiyao was proposing marriage.

It was not as though she had suggested an improper arrangement.

Mu Baicheng was overwhelmed with regret.

Maybe she should simply admit that she no longer wanted to work hard and ask Qin Xiyao to keep her.

But wouldn’t that be completely spineless?

Would Qin Xiyao look down on her?

This was too difficult!

Mu Baicheng buried her entire face in the cushion.

Forget it.

Let everything burn.

Seeing her like this, Qin Xiyao became even more confused.

What kind of madness was this woman experiencing now?

“Woof! Woof!”

Dudu had barely barked twice when the doorbell rang.

Qin Xiyao ignored the conflicted Mu Baicheng and went to open the door.

“Xiyao.”

Liu Suhong stood outside holding a gift bag.

Qin Xiyao did not recognize the brand, but she knew that anything Liu Suhong gave away could not be cheap.

She accepted the bag and casually placed it atop the shoe cabinet.

That simple action made Liu Suhong admire her even more.

As expected of a woman who had just earned twenty million yuan.

She no longer spared even a two-hundred-thousand-yuan watch a second glance.

Qin Xiyao probably had no idea that Young Miss Liu’s casual gift was worth two hundred thousand yuan.

Otherwise, she would not have set it aside so carelessly.

After spending time with the Mu Baicheng of this world, Qin Xiyao had learned one profound truth:

Money was not all-powerful.

But without money, one was absolutely powerless.

“Where’s your Alpha?”

Liu Suhong looked around the living room but failed to notice Mu Baicheng buried beneath the sofa cushion.

Both women’s gazes shifted toward the sofa.

Qin Xiyao pulled the cushion away from Mu Baicheng.

“What are you doing? You’re rich now, yet you’re still behaving like this? Hmm?”

The rising note at the end of the Omega’s question seemed to release tiny bubbles into the air.

Mu Baicheng’s heartbeat malfunctioned again.

Heaven help me! Poverty and beauty—what sin did I commit to deserve this?

Liu Suhong clicked her tongue.

Look at that infatuated expression.

Mu Baicheng was already completely bewitched by Xiyao.

And Qin Xiyao still needed to use her sweet-and-innocent manipulator’s playbook on her?

Qin Xiyao was truly helpless.

She had been unable to handle the Mu Baicheng of her previous life because that woman had been far stronger than her.

Now she could not handle the present Mu Baicheng because this woman ​unauthorized copy​was far too skilled at acting spoiled and unreasonable.

Why was Qin Xiyao always helpless against Mu Baicheng, whether in their past or present lives?

“All right. Both of you should get ready. My father has reserved a restaurant and is waiting for us.”

Liu Suhong linked her arm through Qin Xiyao’s.

“Also, my father found a solution to your identification problem.”

“Is that so?”

Their conversation reached Mu Baicheng.

The aggrieved golden retriever’s ears drooped.

Hadn’t Qin Xiyao only suggested marrying her because she needed that identification card?

Now the problem would soon be resolved.

Boo-hoo… I regret everything.

*

Liu Sheng had selected a private restaurant.

As a successful businessman, he had investigated Qin Xiyao’s preferences in advance.

The moment Qin Xiyao sat down, a perfect serving of Original Recipe chicken was placed before her.

It was entirely different from what she had eaten previously.

The meat was exceptionally fresh and tender. With one bite, flavorful juices burst across her tongue.

Mm.

Liu Sheng truly was a sensible child.

“I had a master chef from Country T prepare this. Honghong said you liked it, so I had the chef brought here specifically.”

“It’s delicious.”

Qin Xiyao ate in small, refined bites.

She understood Liu Sheng’s intentions perfectly.

For a businessman—especially one like Liu Sheng—keeping Daoist practitioners in his home to protect the household was entirely normal.

“I would like you to become my goddaughter.”

The moment Liu Sheng said this, Mu Baicheng nearly sprayed out her orange juice.

She coughed several times, her entire face turning red, then leaned toward Qin Xiyao’s ear.

“If you perform divinations for him after that, can we still charge money?”

This was an important client!

Surely they were not about to lose him like this?

Qin Xiyao did not answer.

She simply watched Liu Sheng and waited for him to continue.

He clearly had not finished speaking.

Since Liu Sheng had employed people from Read on BaiLianTales the Celestial Masters’ Residence, he naturally understood Daoist rules.

Once a Daoist practitioner became someone’s relative, that practitioner could no longer accept money from them.

Aside from an identification card, Qin Xiyao would gain nothing from the arrangement.

It was not a worthwhile bargain.

Moreover, Liu Suhong had surely told her father that Qin Xiyao could also obtain identification by marrying Mu Baicheng.

Liu Sheng was not Qin Xiyao’s only option.

If choosing him meant suffering a financial loss, Qin Xiyao would never agree.

Liu Sheng undoubtedly understood that.

“Of course, if you become my goddaughter, I’ll give you monthly spending money, just as I do Honghong.”

Liu Sheng raised his wineglass toward Qin Xiyao and smiled warmly.

“How does five million yuan a month sound?”